California wildfire causes 13,000 evacuation calls

Fires rage near Yosemite National Park

One of several wildfires burning across California prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people in a central California foothill community near Yosemite National Park, authorities said. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Associated Press)

Authorities have sent evacuation orders to some 13,000 phone numbers as an out-of-control wildfire bears down on a foothill community near Yosemite National Park in Central California.

Sheriff John Anderson issued the evacuation orders late Monday and declared a local state of emergency in Madera County.

The 13,000 calls to evacuate included both homes and businesses, and it was not immediately clear how many people were involved, sheriff's spokeswoman Erica Stuart said.

Four hotels in the community of Oakhurst about 16 miles away from an entrance to Yosemite were evacuated and Tuesday classes have been canceled for most of the Yosemite Unified School District.

Another 2,500 more calls went out warning people they may also need to evacuate, Stuart said.

Fire burning near propane business

The 486-hectare blaze had burned at least two structures but it wasn't immediately clear what they were, officials said.

State Route 41 toward Yosemite was closed down in the area and travellers would need to use different routes into the park, authorities said.

The fire was burning near a propane business with 114,000-litre tanks on the site. Firefighters were trying to save the facility but were wary of the danger of explosions.

"We will be in there as long as we can, but firefighter safety is an issue," state fire Division Chief Don Stein told the Fresno Bee.

There have been no reports of injuries.

Meanwhile, another blaze that began Monday some 80 kilometres northeast of Bakersfield has surged to 121,000 hectares, or nearly eight square kilometres